Let $G$ be an affine algebraic group over an algrebraically closed field $\mathbb K$ of characteristic 0 and $H$ be a subgroup of $G$. The stabilizer of all the set of all vector-functions of $\mathbb K[G]^H$ with respect to the right action of $H$ is $\hat H$. $V^H=V^{\hat H}$ for a $G$-module $V$. The subgroup $H$ is called observable if $H=\hat H$ and epimorphic if $G=\hat H$. In this work I show that under some natural restrictions $H$ is observable if and only if some orbit of some group contains 0 in the closure and $H$ is epimorphic if and only the same orbit is closed.
Let $G$ be a finite group, $\Z G$ the integral group ring of $G$ and $\U(\Z G)$ the group of units of $\Z G$. The Congruence Subgroup Problem for $\U(\Z G)$ is the problem of deciding if every subgroup of finite index of $\U(\Z G)$ contains a congruence subgroup, i.e. the kernel of the natural homomorphism $\U(\Z G) \rightarrow \U(\Z G/m\Z G)$ for some positive integer $m$. The congruence kernel of $\U(\Z G)$ is the kernel of the natural map from the completion of $\U(\Z G)$ with respect to the profinite topology to the completion with respect to the topology defined by the congruence subgroup…
Let~$S$ be a finite nonabelian simple group, and let $H$ be a subgroup of $S$. In this work, the dominion (in the sense of Isbell) of $H$ in $S$ in rmVar(S)$ is determined, generalizing an example of B.H. Neumann. A necessary and sufficient condition for $H$ to be epimorphically embedded in $S$ is obtained. These results are then extended to a variety generated by a family of finite nonabelian simple groups.
For a closed surface $S$ with $χ(S)<0$, we show that the fixed subgroup of a family $\mathcal B$ of endomorphisms of $π_1(S)$ has $\rk \fix\mathcal B\leq \rk π_1(S)$. In particular, if $\mathcal B$ contains a non-epimorphic endomorphism, then $\rk \fix\mathcal B\leq \frac{1}{2} \rk π_1(S)$. We also show that geometric subgroups of $π_1(S)$ are inert, and hence the fixed subgroup of a family of epimorphisms of $π_1(S)$ is also inert.
We generalize [Vav] to give sufficient conditions, primarily on coarse geometry, to ensure that a subset of a Cayley graph is a finite Hausdorff distance from a subgroup. Using this result, we prove a partial converse to the Flat Torus Theorem for CAT(0) groups. Also using this result, we give sufficient conditions for subgroups and splittings to be invariant under quasi-isometries.
We compute the relative divergence and the subgroup distortion of Bestvina-Brady subgroups. We also show that for each integer $n\geq 3$, there is a free subgroup of rank $n$ of some right-angled Artin group whose inclusion is not a quasi-isometric embedding. This result answers the question of Carr about the minimum rank $n$ such that some right-angled Artin group has a free subgroup of rank $n$ whose inclusion is not a quasi-isometric embedding. It is well-known that a right-angled Artin group $A_Γ$ is the fundamental group of a graph manifold whenever the defining graph $Γ$ is a tree. We sh…
We classify up to conjugation by $\operatorname{GL}(2,\mathbb{R})$ (more precisely, block diagonal symplectic matrices) all the semidirect products inside the maximal parabolic of $\operatorname{Sp}(2,\mathbb{R})$ by means of an essentially geometric argument. This classification has already been established without geometry, under a stricter notion of equivalence, namely conjugation by arbitrary symplectic matrices. The present approach might be useful in higher dimensions and provides some insight.
We use geometric techniques to investigate several examples of quasi-isometrically embedded subgroups of Thompson's group F. Many of these are explored using the metric properties of the shift map phi in F. These subgroups have simple geometric but complicated algebraic descriptions. We present them to illustrate the intricate geometry of Thompson's group F as well as the interplay between its standard finite and infinite presentations. These subgroups include those of the form F^m cross Z^n, for integral non-negative m and n, which were shown to occur as quasi-isometrically embedded subgroups…
We show that the geometric realisation of the poset of proper parabolic subgroups of a large-type Artin group has a systolic geometry. We use this geometry to show that the set of parabolic subgroups of a large-type Artin group is stable under arbitrary intersections and forms a lattice for the inclusion. As an application, we show that parabolic subgroups of large-type Artin groups are stable under taking roots and we completely characterise the parabolic subgroups that are conjugacy stable. We also use this geometric perspective to recover and unify results describing the normalisers of para…
We describe some of the geometric properties of the automorphism group Aut(F) of Thompson's group F. We give realizations of Aut(F) geometrically via periodic tree pair diagrams, which lead to natural presentations and give effective methods for estimating the word length of elements. We study some natural subgroups of Aut(F) and their metric properties. In particular, we show that the subgroup of inner automorphisms of F is at least quadratically distorted in Aut(F), whereas other subgroups of Aut(F) isomorphic to F are undistorted.
A group is SimpHAtic if it acts geometrically on a simply connected simplicially hereditarily aspherical (SimpHAtic) complex. We show that finitely presented normal subgroups of the SimpHAtic groups are either: finite, or of finite index, or virtually free. This result applies, in particular, to normal subgroups of systolic groups. We prove similar strong restrictions on group extensions for other classes of asymptotically aspherical groups. The proof relies on studying homotopy types at infinity of groups in question. We also show that nonuniform lattices in SimpHAtic complexes (and in more g…
We give an explicit description for a basis of a subgroup of finite index in the group of central units of the integral group ring $\Z G$ of a finite abelian-by-supersolvable group such that every cyclic subgroup of order not a divisor of 4 or 6 is subnormal in $G$. The basis elements turn out to be a natural product of conjugates of Bass units. This extends and generalizes a result of Jespers, Parmenter and Sehgal showing that the Bass units generate a subgroup of finite index in the center $\mathcal{Z} (\U (\Z G))$ of the unit group $\U (\Z G)$ in case $G$ is a finite nilpotent group. Next, …
The notion of a \emph{$G$-completely reducible} subgroup is important in the study of algebraic groups and their subgroup structure. It generalizes the usual idea of complete reducibility from representation theory: a subgroup $H$ of a general linear group $G= {\rm GL}_n(k)$ is $G$-completely reducible if and only if the inclusion map $i\colon H\rightarrow {\rm GL}_n(k)$ is a completely reducible representation of $H$. In these notes I give an introduction to the theory of complete reducibility and its applications, and explain an approach to the subject using geometric invariant theory.
Let M be a surface (possibly nonorientable) with punctures and/or boundary components. The paper is a study of ``geometric subgroups'' of the mapping class group of M, that is subgroups corresponding to inclusions of subsurfaces (possibly disconnected). We characterise the subsurfaces which lead to virtually abelian geometric subgroups. We provide algebraic and geometric conditions under which two geometric subgroups are commensurable. We also describe the commensurator of a geometric subgroup in terms of the stabiliser of the underlying subsurface. Finally, we show some applications of our an…
Let G be a right-angled Artin group. We use geometric methods to compute a presentation of the subgroup H of Aut(G) consisting of the automorphisms that send each generator to a conjugate of itself. This generalizes a result of McCool on basis-conjugating automorphisms of free groups.
We prove that Thompson's groups $F$ and $V$ are the geometry groups of associativity, and of associativity together with commutativity, respectively. We deduce new presentations of $F$ and $V$. These presentations lead to considering a certain subgroup of $V$ and an extension of this subgroup. We prove that the latter are the geometry groups of associativity together with the law $x(yz) = y(xz)$, and of associativity together with a twisted version of this law involving self-distributivity, respectively.
This paper is a study of the subgroups of the mapping class groups of Riemann surfaces, called "geometric" subgroups, corresponding to the inclusion of subsurfaces. Our analysis includes surfaces with boundary and with punctures. The centres of all the mapping class groups are calculated. We determine the kernel of inclusion-induced maps of the mapping class group of a subsurface, and give necessary and sufficient conditions for injectivity. In the injective case, we show that the commensurability class of a geometric subgroup completely determines up to isotopy the defining subsurface, and we…
We consider the coset poset associated with the families of proper subgroups, proper subgroups of finite index, and proper normal subgroups of finite index. We investigate under which conditions those coset posets have contractible geometric realizations.
We study infinite covolume discrete subgroups of higher rank semisimple Lie groups, motivated by understanding basic properties of Anosov subgroups from various viewpoints (geometric, coarse geometric and dynamical). The class of Anosov subgroups constitutes a natural generalization of convex cocompact subgroups of rank one Lie groups to higher rank. Our main goal is to give several new equivalent characterizations for this important class of discrete subgroups. Our characterizations capture "rank one behavior" of Anosov subgroups and are direct generalizations of rank one equivalents to conve…
If H is a flat group of automorphisms of finite rank n of a totally disconnected, locally compact group G, then each orbit of H in the metric space B(G) of compact, open subgroups of G is quasi-isometric to n-dimensional euclidean space. In this note we prove the following partial converse: Assume that G is a totally disconnected, locally compact group such that B(G) is a proper metric space and let H be a group of automorphisms of G such that some (equivalently every) orbit of H in B(G) is quasi-isometric to n-dimensional euclidean space, then H has a finite index subgroup which is flat of ra…
We extend the classical Stallings theory (describing subgroups of free groups as automata) to direct products of free and abelian groups: after introducing enriched automata (i.e., automata with extra abelian labels), we obtain an explicit bijection between subgroups and a certain type of such enriched automata, which - as it happens in the free group - is computable in the finitely generated case. This approach provides a neat geometric description of (even non finitely generated) intersections of finitely generated subgroups within this non-Howson family. In particular, we give a geometric s…
The theme of this survey is that subgroups of the mapping class group of a finite type surface S can be studied via the geometric/dynamical properties of their action on the Thurston compactification of the Teichmuller space of S, just as discrete subgroups of the isometries of hyperbolic space can be studied via their action on compactified hyperbolic space.
A normal subgroup of the (extended) mapping class group of a surface is said to be geometric if its automorphism group is the mapping class group. We prove that in the case of the Cantor tree surface, every normal subgroup is geometric. We note that there is no non-trivial finite-type mapping class group for which this statement is true. We study a generalisation of the curve graph, proving that its automorphism group is again the mapping class group. This strategy is adapted from that of Brendle-Margalit and the author for certain normal subgroups in the finite-type setting.
We study a class $\mathfrak{M}$ of cyclically presented groups that includes both finite and infinite groups and is defined by a certain combinatorial condition on the defining relations. This class includes many finite metacyclic generalized Fibonacci groups that have been previously identified in the literature. By analysing their shift extensions we show that the groups in the class $\mathfrak{M}$ are are coherent, subgroup separable, satisfy the Tits alternative, possess finite index subgroups of geometric dimension at most two, and that their finite subgroups are all metacyclic. Many of t…
Given a complete CAT(0) space $X$ endowed with a geometric action of a group $Γ$, it is known that if $Γ$ contains a free abelian group of rank $n$, then $X$ contains a geometric flat of dimension $n$. We prove a converse of this statement in the special case where $X$ is a convex subcomplex of the CAT(0) realization of a Coxeter group $W$, and $Γ$ is a subgroup of $W$. In particular a convex cocompact subgroup of a Coxeter group is Gromov-hyperbolic if and only if it does not contain a free abelian group of rank 2. Our result also provides an explicit control on geometric flats in the CAT(0) …
In this note, we compute the Σ^1(G) invariant when 1 {\to} H {\to} G {\to} K {\to} 1 is a short exact sequence of finitely generated groups with K finite. As an application, we construct a group F semidirect Z_2 where F is the R. Thompson's group F and show that F semidirect Z_2 has the R-infinity property while F is not characteristic. Furthermore, we construct a finite extension G with finitely generated commutator subgroup G' but has a finite index normal subgroup H with infinitely generated H'.
We prove that an IRS of a group with a geometrically dense action on a CAT(0) space also acts geometrically densely; assuming the space is either of finite telescopic dimension or locally compact with finite dimensional Tits boundary. This can be thought of as a Borel density theorem for IRSs.
Let $G$ be a simple classical algebraic group over an algebraically closed field $K$ of characteristic $p \ge 0$ with natural module $W$. Let $H$ be a closed subgroup of $G$ and let $V$ be a non-trivial irreducible tensor-indecomposable $p$-restricted rational $KG$-module such that the restriction of $V$ to $H$ is irreducible. In this paper we classify all such triples $(G,H,V)$, where $H$ is a maximal closed disconnected positive-dimensional subgroup of $G$, and $H$ preserves a natural geometric structure on $W$.
Geometric methods proposed by Stallings for treating finitely generated subgroups of free groups were successfully used by many authors to solve a wide collection of decision problems for free groups and their subgroups. In the present paper we employ our generalized Stallings' folding method to introduce a procedure, which given a subgroup H of a free product of finite groups reads off its Kurosh decomposition from the subgroup graph of H.
We extend the notion of induced conjugacy classes in reductive groups, introduced by Lusztig and Spaltenstein for unipotent classes, to arbitrary classes. We study properties of equivariant fibrations of prehomogeneous affine spaces, especially the existence of relative invariants. We also detect prehomogeneous affine spaces as subquotients of canonical parabolic subgroups attached to elements of reductive groups in the sense of Jacobson-Morozov. These results are prerequisites for making the geometric expansion of the Arthur-Selberg trace formula more explicit.
We prove that if F is a finitely generated free group and f:F -> F is an automorphism with polynomial growth of degree d, then there exists a characteristic subgroup S < F of finite index such that the induced automorphism of the abelianisation of S also grows polynomially of degree d. The proof is geometric in nature and makes use of improved relative train track representatives.
In this paper we derive an explicit expression for the normal zeta function of class two nilpotent groups whose associated Pfaffian hypersurface is smooth. In particular, we show how the local zeta function depends on counting mod p rational points on related varieties, and we describe the varieties that can appear in such a decomposition. As a corollary, we also establish explicit results on the degree of polynomial subgroup growth in these groups, and we study the behaviour of poles of this zeta function. Under certain geometric conditions, we also confirm that these functions satisfy a func…
We show that if $G$ is a non-elementary word hyperbolic group, mapping class group of a hyperbolic surface or the outer automorphism group of a nonabelian free group then $G$ has $2^{\aleph_0}$ many continuous ergodic invariant random subgroups. If $G$ is a nonabelian free group then $G$ has $2^{\aleph_0}$ many continuous $G$-ergodic characteristic random subgroups. We also provide a complete classification of characteristic random subgroups of free abelian groups of countably infinite rank and elementary $p$-groups of countably infinite rank.
Geometric methods proposed by Stallings for treating finitely generated subgroups of free groups were successfully used to solve a wide collection of decision problems for free groups and their subgroups. In the present paper we employ the generalized Stallings' methods, developed by the author, to solve various algorithmic problems concerning finitely generated subgroups of amalgams of finite groups.
By studying commensurators of virtually cyclic groups, we prove that every elementary amenable group of finite Hirsch length h and cardinality aleph-n admits a finite dimensional classifying space with virtually cyclic stabilizers of dimension n+h+2. We also provide a criterion for groups that fit into an extension with torsion-free quotient to admit a finite dimensional classifying space with virtually cyclic stabilizers. Finally, we exhibit examples of integral linear groups of type F whose geometric dimension for the family of virtually cyclic subgroups is finite but arbitrarily larger than…
Let K be a subgroup of the inhomogeneous Hecke group G_5 of finite index. Suppose that the geometric level of K is r. Then K is congruence if and only if K contains the principal congruence subgroup of level 2r.
We prove that a group homomorphism $φ\colon L\to G$ from a locally compact Hausdorff group $L$ into a discrete group $G$ either is continuous, or there exists a normal open subgroup $N\subseteq L$ such that $φ(N)$ is a torsion group provided that $G$ does not include $\mathbb{Q}$ or the $p$-adic integers $\mathbb{Z}_p$ or the Prüfer $p$-group $\mathbb{Z}(p^\infty)$ for any prime $p$ as a subgroup, and if the torsion subgroups of $G$ are small in the sense that any torsion subgroup of $G$ is artinian. In particular, if $φ$ is surjective and $G$ additionaly does not have non-trivial normal torsi…
This is the first in a series of four papers (with research announcement posted on this arXiv) that together develop a decomposition theory for subgroups of Out(F_n). In this paper we develop further the theory of geometric EG strata of relative train track maps originally introduced in the work of Bestvina, Feighn, and Handel on the Tits alternative, with our focus trained on certain 2-dimensional models of such strata called "geometric models" and on the interesting properties of these models. A secondary purpose of this paper is to serve as a central reference for the whole series regarding…
Geometric methods proposed by Stallings for treating finitely generated subgroups of free groups were successfully used to solve a wide collection of decision problems for free groups and their subgroups. It turns out that Stallings' methods can be effectively generalized for the class of amalgams of finite groups. In the present paper we employ subgroup graphs constructed by the generalized Stallings' folding algorithm to solve various algorithmic problems in amalgams of finite groups.
Let G be a connected reductive linear algebraic group. We use geometric methods to investigate G-completely reducible subgroups of G, giving new criteria for G-complete reducibility. We show that a subgroup of G is G-completely reducible if and only if it is strongly reductive in G; this allows us to use ideas of R.W. Richardson and Hilbert--Mumford--Kempf from geometric invariant theory. We deduce that a normal subgroup of a G-completely reducible subgroup of G is again G-completely reducible, thereby providing an affirmative answer to a question posed by J.-P. Serre, and conversely we prove …
We study the scale and tidy subgroups of an endomorphism of a totally disconnected locally compact group using a geometric framework. This leads to new interpretations of tidy subgroups and the scale function. Foremost, we obtain a geometric tidying procedure which applies to endomorphisms as well as a geometric proof of the fact that tidiness is equivalent to being minimizing for a given endomorphism. Our framework also yields an endomorphism version of the Baumgartner-Willis tree representation theorem. We conclude with a construction of new endomorphisms of totally disconnected locally comp…
A subgroup Q is commensurated in a group G if each G conjugate of Q intersects Q in a group that has finite index in both Q and the conjugate. So commensurated subgroups are similar to normal subgroups. Semistability and simple connectivity at infinity are geometric asymptotic properties of finitely presented groups. In this paper we generalize several of the classic semistability and simple connectivity at infinity results for finitely presented groups. In particular, we show that if a finitely generated group G contains an infinite finitely generated commensurated subgroup Q of infinite inde…
Let $F$ be a finitely generated free group. We present an algorithm such that, given a subgroup $H\leqslant F$, decides whether $H$ is the fixed subgroup of some family of automorphisms, or family of endomorphisms of $F$ and, in the affirmative case, finds such a family. The algorithm combines both combinatorial and geometric methods.
An action of a group $G$ is highly transitive if $G$ acts transitively on $k$-tuples of distinct points for all $k \geq 1$. Many examples of groups with a rich geometric or dynamical action admit highly transitive actions. We prove that if a group $G$ admits a highly transitive action such that $G$ does not contain the subgroup of finitary alternating permutations, and if $H$ is a confined subgroup of $G$, then the action of $H$ remains highly transitive, possibly after discarding finitely many points. This result provides a tool to rule out the existence of highly transitive actions, and to c…
Let $G$ be a finite group and $\mathcal{U} (\mathbb{Z} G)$ the unit group of the integral group ring $\mathbb{Z} G$. We prove a unit theorem, namely a characterization of when $\mathcal{U}(\mathbb{Z}G)$ satisfies Kazhdan's property $(\operatorname{T})$, both in terms of the finite group $G$ and in terms of the simple components of the semisimple algebra $\mathbb{Q}G$. Furthermore, it is shown that for $\mathcal{U}( \mathbb{Z} G)$ this property is equivalent to the weaker property $\operatorname{FAb}$ (i.e. every subgroup of finite index has finite abelianization), and in particular also to a h…
The main purpose of this article is to give the integral cohomology of classical principal congruence subgroups in SL(2,Z) as well as their analogues in the third braid group with local coefficients in symmetric powers of the natural symplectic representation. The resulting answers (1) correspond to certain modular forms in characteristic zero, and (2) the cohomology of certain spaces in homotopy theory in characteristic p. The torsion is given in terms of the structure of a "p-divided power algebra". The work is an extension of the work in arXiv:1204.5390v1 as well as extensions of a classica…
We propose several common extensions of the classes of Anosov subgroups and geometrically finite Kleinian groups among discrete subgroups of semisimple Lie groups. We relativize various dynamical and coarse geometric characterizations of Anosov subgroups given in our earlier work, extending the class from intrinsically hyperbolic to relatively hyperbolic subgroups. We prove implications and equivalences between the various relativizations.
We generalize Bonahon's characterization of geometrically infinite torsion-free discrete subgroups of PSL(2, $\mathbb{C}$) to geometrically infinite discrete isometry subgroups in the case of rank 1 symmetric spaces, and, under the assumption of bounded torsion, to the case of negatively pinched Hadamard manifolds. Every such geometrically infinite isometry subgroup $Γ$ has a set of nonconical limit points with cardinality of continuum.
